


Years, Continents, Bloodshed, Ever After

by ORainStorms



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, HEA, Happy Ending, Hope, Hopeful Ending, Personal Growth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27138706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ORainStorms/pseuds/ORainStorms
Summary: This takes places as an alternative to the ending for Season 4 of the Veronica Mars TV show.In this version, Logan and Veronica get a happy ending.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 19
Kudos: 56





	Years, Continents, Bloodshed, Ever After

Heart pounding, I jolted awake and shot up in bed. Breathing hard, I tried to gain my bearings. It was a dream. Just a dream. But I couldn’t shake the feelings of pain, despair. I couldn’t seem to bring in enough air. 

The case was over. We had figured it out. Penn, that crazy mothercussing misogynistic asshole, had decided he needed to show them. Show everyone. Prove himself by solving the crime. And when that hadn’t worked, by copying it and leading everyone on a wild goose chase. He thought he was so cussing clever. 

But between Matty, my dad, and me, we had figured it out. He hadn’t gotten away with it. It had taken longer than I liked, but we had found the bomb at the school. Everyone was safe. And Logan…

My throat constricted and tears blurred my vision. Logan had almost been taken from me. I had figured out the clue too late. By the time I had realized and raced to the window, the bomb was going off. 

Thank god for Logan’s military experience. He’d noticed something was off when he opened the door. He’d looked under the seat and seen it and begun running before the explosion went off. Somehow, we had both gotten away with minor cuts and scrapes. But almost… Almost…

The tide of panic threatened to drag me under. The thought of the absolute desolation of losing the person I loved most in the world was unbearable. 

The bed shifted beside me and a warm arm snaked around my waist. 

“Hey,” his sleep roughened voice rumbled. “Everything okay?”

Quickly, I wiped at my eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, everything is fine.” I swallowed, convulsively. Then, I caught myself. I was doing it again. Being evasive. Avoiding vulnerability. I was done. That near miss had been my come to jesus moment. I couldn’t go on this way. I needed to change.

“Actually, no. I’m not okay. I keep reliving what happened with Penn… the bomb… and you…” A shuddering sob escaped. Logan didn’t interrupt. He sat there, a quiet, comforting presence. He rubbed slow circles on my back with his large warm hands. “In my dreams, nightmares if I’m telling the truth, you don’t make it out. And I can’t… I can’t…”

“I’m here.” He sat up and pressed his lips to my shoulder. “I’m here. I’m safe. We’re safe. I love you.”

His simple assurances and presence did what more complicated speeches or logic could not have. Slowly, I came back to center, my breathing slowed and I let him pull me down with him, placing my head on his chest, listening to his heart beating, feeling his chest rise and fall. I felt the subtle changes in his body as he fell back to sleep. But I couldn’t. I took him in. I clutched him. I was basically a cussing koala bear. I lay there, still, and watched as the sun slowly rose and the world became brighter.

The tempting smell of bacon drifted into my nostrils. I must have drifted off after all. I groggily sat up and rubbed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. We hadn’t left on a honeymoon after all with all that had happened, so I knew where I was. I was comforted by the sight of my bedroom, my comforter, the smell of Logan on the sheets. I could hear him humming to himself in the kitchen. This apartment was so small. There was nowhere in it that I wouldn’t be able to hear him. I used to hate that sometimes. But now…

I shook it off and shuffled to the kitchen. I began pasting on a smile, but I reminded myself of my resolutions. Instead, I walked up behind Logan and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his back. I breathed him in. He stood very still, letting me, covering my hands with one of his own. He seemed to know I needed a minute. 

He flipped the bacon. He plated the eggs. When everything was finished and the stove turned off, he set down the spatula. Without dislodging me, he turned around and wrapped his arms around me too. He set his chin on my head. 

“I know this feeling. This fear for the person you love. The powerlessness. It sucks. I am so unbelievably relieved that you didn’t come anywhere near that bomb. Even if something had happened, I would rather it have been me. I am so damn happy that I found it, for both of our sakes. Those what ifs. Those will eat you alive.”

Tears leaked from my eyes and onto his bare chest. 

“Do you want to talk about it,” he whispered.

“No,” I wiped my eyes. “I mean, not right now. I want to eat this delicious breakfast you made.”

“Ha!” Logan pulled back, hands on my arms, smiling down at me. “Who says it’s for you? I’ve got my best boy, Dick, coming over and the man likes to be well fed.”

“What?! Are you two timing me with that bozo so soon after the wedding? I knew marriage was a crap shoot.”

“Can you blame me? He is awfully pretty,” Logan smirked. 

Letting go, we opted to sit together on the couch to eat. I wanted to be near him. Needed to be touching. Cuss, I was basically on top of him, in his lap. Details.

Pushing the last few bites around on his plate, Logan looked up at me. After the third time, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Just spit it out, dude.”

“Ha,” he smiled sheepishly at his plate before meeting my eyes. “You know me too well.” He cleared his throat. “The thing is, I talked to Dr. Jane, and she has an opening today. In a couple of hours. And she can see us. Together. Or alone if that’s better. I just…” He stretched his neck. “I just think it would be good for both of us to process what happened, you know?”

I immediately stiffened and drew back. I’ve always hated the idea of a shrink. I’ve been just fine on my own. I don’t need to change, for anyone. 

Then, the second me in my head, the newly awakened one, piped up. Yeah, but are you okay? Really? Not for a long time. Don’t be a punk, Veronica. Own up to it. 

I took a deep breath. I suppose the first step is admitting I needed some help. “I think I’d like to see her on my own first, if that’s okay.” 

Logan blinked at me, apparently I had blown his mind with my answer. He struggled to cover up his smile. “Yeah, yeah, sure, sounds good.” Kissing my forehead, he hopped off the couch and put his dishes in the dishwasher. He rubbed his hands together. “Okay, well, I’m going to take a shower.”

I could feel his excitement even as he left the room. I was less convinced therapy would be a good thing. Why drag up old bad feelings, am I right? But he had been trying to get me to do this forever and I looked up Dr. Jane when he first started seeing her and she seemed legit. Besides, regardless of the outcome, I was committed to change. Things were not going back to the way they were. It was time to grow up. 

Logan took a cab with me to my visit. He cheerfully waved me off and said he’d go get a coffee and catch up on a book he’d been meaning to read. I didn’t look into it too much. I had other things to worry about.

Dr. Jane’s office was… basic. Super basic. Like any suburban living room, really. I stared hard at the couch when I walked in, hands shoved into my pockets. Was I supposed to lay on it?

Thankfully, Dr. Jane seemed to know what to do. She invited me in, asked if I wanted to sit, let me pace around and snoop a bit. She let me drag the silence along with me.

Eventually, I plopped down onto the couch and decided, what the hell, may as well get the ball rolling. 

We only had an hour, so we didn’t have time to get into my life story, that could come later. Honestly, it wasn’t nearly as painful as I had thought it would be. Maybe she was building trust before getting to the really tough topics. But she did give me some good insight and tools if I started to feel overwhelmed by the guilt and panic again. We agreed to regular visits. 

Okay, so far so good, I told myself. Step one in changing my life achieved. 

Logan went in for his appointment right after mine, so I had some time on my hands to think. I went over to the same coffee shop he probably visited, right across the street. I ordered a plain drip and doctored it with some cream and sugar.

Sitting on a wooden barstool, facing the street, I stared out the window, nursing my drink. What the cuss was I going to do with my life. 

I’ve watched my dad getting older and sicker, with no insurance and no retirement security. He couldn’t do this forever, but he couldn’t afford to quit either. I needed to do better. I needed to have enough to support him if he needed it. 

I had my degrees and I could always take the bar, but I didn’t really want to practice law, especially not the boring kind like estate planning and I didn’t want to spend more time dealing with broken families in divorce. So what else? What was I suited for? 

I was good at being a PI. I could figure out where to look and what questions to ask. Police work? I didn’t think I was cut out to be a local cop.

Just then, my phone rang. I answered automatically, “Veronica Mars.”

“Hey, Veronica, it’s Leo.” My heart skipped a beat, in guilt.

I still couldn’t believe I had such a dirty dream about him. I was so glad nothing had really happened. I knew I had a problem with self-sabotage. 

“Yeah,” I cleared my throat, “Yeah, what’s up man?” I picked at the edge of the cup with my nail.

“Hey, are you okay? I just heard about your car. There was a delay while I was traveling back. Good job catching that guy. I can’t believe he even planned for contingencies. That guy is crazy.”

“Yeah, yeah, Logan and I are fine,” my voice cracked and I cleared my throat. Not everyone needed the new, honest, vulnerable Veronica. “We just got a few scratches and scrapes, and obviously now need a new car. I’m thinking something red, and slutty.”

“Haha, same old Veronica. Nothing knocks you down for long. Hey, listen, do you remember my boss? The one that called in?”

“The asshole who dismissed our ideas as ridiculous?”

“That’s the one. Anyway, he was really impressed by you and your work. He even remembers you from your internship with the FBI that one summer. You might not remember him. It took him a while to place your name too. Anyway, he wanted me to reach out, seeing as how we had a personal connection or whatever. He wants me to help recruit you.”

I nearly snorted out my coffee. “He wants to do what now?”

“He thinks you’d be a good addition to the profiling team. I told him it was a long shot. That you’d never leave Neptune or the family business. But I just wanted to let you know.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing through the implications. My gut response was to agree, I would never be able to leave my hometown or the PI biz. I was too addicted, but then again…

“You know what, let him know I’ll think about it. Tell him to send over an offer letter.”

“What?” Leo spluttered, “Well, that’s great! Okay, I’ll let him know. He’ll be super jazzed.”

“Jazzed? Get with the times man. They are a’changin’!” She could hear muffled voices as he covered the receiver.

“Hey, I’ve gotta run, but Veronica?”

“Yeah?”

“I really am glad that nothing bad happened to you.” He paused. “Or to Logan. He’s a good guy. And a lucky one. Talk to you soon.”

And before I even really had a chance to say goodbye, he had hung up. 

Well, well. I tapped my knees through my jeans. Things to think about. 

My phone chimed. An email. From the FBI. That was fast. They must have had this ready to go for me. I opened it up and read through it carefully. I whistled when I saw the compensation package and benefits. A steady paycheck, dental, vision, healthcare, 401k, the works. I’d be sitting pretty. But, I’d need to leave Neptune. Move to Virginia…

Logan busted in on my thoughts. Wrapping an arm around me, he kissed my hair. 

I started. I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t even seen him approaching. 

“Hey, you.”

“Hey, you.” I leaned in for a deep kiss, lips meeting and testing, before sliding and parting. I give his lower lip a quick nip before hopping down off the stool.

“So, dinner with my dad tonight?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Perfect, because I have some things we need to talk about.”

“Well, that sounds ominous. Good thing I locked this down and married you yesterday.”

“Yeah, well, buckle up buttercup, because we’re about to take a hard left and get the hell outta Dodge. Gotta keep you on your toes. Don’t want you getting all complacent and docile on me.”

I tugged him out of the shop and down the street. We walked hand in hand a ways, in no hurry to be anywhere or do anything. Things were looking up. 

Big changes were coming, but I was confident that we would be able to handle anything.

Our love was epic, spanning years and continents. Lives ruined and bloodshed. Epic. 

And this next step, the one after that, or a million down the road, we would handle, together.


End file.
